UK CHARTER OPERATOR Excalibur Airways, pilloried in the UK media for two weeks over a series of embarrassing delays, went into liquidation on 26 June.
The decision is blamed partly on the "sensationalised media coverage", which followed a scare among passengers over technical problems on a leased McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30. A dispute broke out at Manchester Airport in the UK as many passengers refused to board the aircraft, operated by Belgian company Skyjet.
Excalibur was formed in 1992 by management from the failed TEA UK. It began European charter services with a fleet of leased Airbus A320s, but subsequently disposed of the aircraft after it was acquired at the end of 1995 by long-haul tour operator Globespan.
Excalibur announced that it intended to lease two DC-10-30s from April, but those plans fell through. Aircraft have since been subchartered from other carriers, including Laker, Monarch and Skyjet. The liquidator says that the airliners were chartered at "excessive cost".
The airline, which employs 180 people, had been in negotiations with a potential new investor before liquidation and a new buyer is being sought for the company, which includes operating licences.
Source: Flight International
